英语听力—环球英语 706 Swimming the Amazon River

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Martin Strel walks to the edge² of the river. It is raining. But people have still come to watch him. It is early February, 2007 and Strel is 53 years old. He waves to the crowd. He shakes hands with some children. He wears a wetsuit, a swimming suit that covers his whole body. He is calm enough that you may think he is about to go for an easy swim. But Martin Strel is about to begin the longest swim that anyone has ever done. He is going to swim the Amazon River.
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is on Martin Strel. Martin Strel holds world records for swimming long distances. But Martin Strel does not look like an athlete. He does not have money to spend on training equipment. He does not make much money from swimming. He swims to teach people about the importance of keeping rivers clean. But he also swims just because he wants to. He swims because he can.
Voice 1
Strel has been swimming long distances since 1978. In 2000, he swam the Danube River through Eastern Europe. In 2002, he swam the Mississippi River, in the United³ States. Two years later, he swam the Yangtze River in China. This was his longest swim. It was just over 4,000 kilometres. But Martin Strel was not done. He wanted to set a new record for the longest swim ever. He wanted to swim the Amazon River. Strel kept a record of his attempt for the BBC⁴ news organization. He wrote:
Voice 3
“Many people ask me why I am doing this. I want to prove to myself that I can achieve more than other people. That I can do the impossible. I want to do something that no one else has ever done. Of course, while doing that I also want to encourage an environmental⁵ message.”
Voice 2
The Amazon River was not like any swim Strel had done before. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world. It contains more water than the next eight largest rivers combined. In some places, the river is over 190 kilometres wide.
Voice 1
The river is home to many different animals and beautiful fish. Most are harmless⁶. But, many are not. There are dangerous snakes, insects, crocodiles and deadly piranha fish. A group of piranhas can kill a person. If Strel was attacked, his team would need to get him out of the water quickly. But piranhas were not his only concern.
Voice 2
In the Amazon River, there are insects that carry diseases⁷. The sun was also a problem. It was so hot that Strel suffered second degree burns while swimming. There were also men on the river who would try to steal cameras and equipment from Strel’s team. For part of the swim, guards with guns travelled on boats with the team.
Voice 1
The long swim made Strel very tired. He only slept about four hours each night. He had to eat a lot of food to have enough energy to swim. In fact, he ate eight thousand calories⁸ every day – that is four times more than a normal person should eat. There was another way that Strel’s diet was different from most athletes. He would drink a bottle of wine every day. He says it helped him stay calm. He told writer Gregory Mone:
Voice 3
“I would stay in the water for six hours. Then I would get in the boat to eat and drink for half an hour. After lunch I needed two glasses of red wine. After dinner too. And I drank maybe one or two glasses of beer each day. Beer was good for my lips⁹, to wash my mouth of all the mud¹⁰ in the water. Then I would go in again and swim.”
Voice 2
The swim was dangerous and very tiring. But the biggest problem was having nothing to do. Strel was bored. Day after day he swam. He could not listen to music or talk to friends. In an interview with Dominic Bliss¹¹, Strel explained how he deals with being bored while swimming.
Voice 3
“I have to talk to myself. I tell myself stories about my life, my family, my team. I count my arm movements. Sometimes I see things that are not there. Sometimes I sleep for a few minutes while I swim. Sometimes I talk to God. Maybe God helps me.”
Voice 1
Strel swam on the Amazon River for 66 days. He swam for ten hours every day. He swam 5268 kilometres. And on April 7 2007, Martin Strel reached the city of Belem, Brazil. There, his support team pulled him from the water and brought him to the hospital. It would take him over six months to recover. He told news writer Dan Silkstone:
Voice 3
“I am very tired. It is my time to rest.”
Voice 2
He spent the next few days resting in a hotel, eating and watching television. When Silkstone asked Strel’s son if Strel had any hobbies, he said:
Voice 4
“Not really. But he does like to swim in the hotel pool.”
Voice 1
Strel’s swim up the Amazon River was amazing. He set a world record for long distance swimming. He got into the river and swam. Not just one day. But day after day after day. Did he change the world? No. But what he did was make people think about what is possible. He says:
Voice 3
“I am a normal man, a common man who just has higher goals than usual. I want to show everyone around the world that if you set a goal that is a little higher, you have to try to achieve it. If you keep working and do not stop, you will come to the end. This could be for whatever you want. I chose to swim the Amazon. The Amazon River is still very clean. Local people use it as a natural resource¹² and I think the Amazon should stay clean forever. I have seen some loss¹³ of the forest, but it is not going to be good if we keep cutting down more trees. I want to pass this message to everybody: Do not look only for business and for money when you come close to nature.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 edge   

n.边(缘)；刃；优势；v.侧着移动，徐徐移动

参考例句：

• Sight along the edge to see if it's straight.顺着边目测，看看直不直。
• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。

3 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

4 BBC   

abbr.（=British Broadcasting Corporation）英国广播公司

参考例句：

• She works for the BBC.她为英国广播公司工作。
• The BBC was founded in 1922.英国广播公司建于1922年。

5 environmental   

adj.环境的

参考例句：

• A global environmental meeting is going to be held here.一个全球环境会议将在这里举行。
• We need to cure our environmental problems.我们需要解决环境问题。

6 harmless   

adj.无害的，无恶意的

参考例句：

• This experiment was harmless to the animals.这个试验不会对动物造成伤害。
• He was a harmless sort.他是一个不怀恶意的人。

7 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

8 calories   

n.大卡( calorie的名词复数 )；千卡（食物所产生的能量单位）；卡路里；卡（热量单位）；卡路里，大卡路里( calory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• No sugar for me, thanks—I'm counting my calories . 我不要糖，谢谢。我在控制摄取的热量。
• Her diet restricts her to 1500 calories a day. 她的规定饮食限制她每天摄入1500大卡热量。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lips   

abbr.logical inferences per second 每秒的逻辑推论n.嘴唇( lip的名词复数 )；（容器或凹陷地方的）边缘；粗鲁无礼的话

参考例句：

• Her lips compressed into a thin line. 她的双唇抿成了一道缝。
• the fullness of her lips 她丰满的双唇

10 mud   

n.泥，泥浆

参考例句：

• The swimming pool is filled up with mud.游泳池里全是泥。
• A car ran past,spotting my coat with mud.一辆汽车驶过，给我的外衣溅上了泥点。

11 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

12 resource   

n.资源，财力

参考例句：

• All pollution is simply an unused resource.所有的污染只不过是一种未被利用的资源。
• He is full of resource in any emergency.他富有随机应变的才能。

13 loss   

n.损失，遗失，失败，输，浪费，错过，[军]伤亡，降低

参考例句：

• His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
• Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损，工厂关闭了。